


The Forgotten Tale

by YttrimHellbeinger



Category: Original Work
Genre: Elves, F/M, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 10:25:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9319526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YttrimHellbeinger/pseuds/YttrimHellbeinger





	

The Forgotten Tale.  
Yttrim Hellbringer

To tell this story we need to go back, before man made computers and star ships back before the elves all vanished, before the dwarves lost their way. Back even before the the Silver Light was discovered and used to protect us from the invasion of the Estarion armies. For this is a story from mans forgotten past, and one that should never have been forgotten.  
The road was hard and treacherous, with rocks and debris jutting out at irregular intervals and odd angles. The rider would have fallen if not for the sure footed mule that carried her. The rider herself was nearly as rough looking as the road, all blades and tattered clothes. Once the cloak she was clad in would have been resplendent with vibrant blues and greens and soft textures and the armour would have gleamed so bright that it would have hurt your eyes to behold her. But now, after five years on the road, the armour was dented and covered in a mixture of dried blood, some hers, most her enemies. The cloak ended just above her thighs in strips and shreds, and was covered in patches of other materials at odds with its natural hues. The riders face was cloaked in the shadows of the cowl making it impossible to see the face beneath. This didn't help the rider as she approached the walled and ramshackle town of Aldersburg. Nor did the recent raids by bandits and deserters that had been mounted against the town for its scarce supplies of food.  
"Ye stop righ' there missy!" Cried the grey haired gate keeper as he saw her approaching.  
"I seek refuge on this cold night good sir." Called the rider.  
"We're closed." Replied the gate keeper curtly.  
"Please sir. I have gold and my own food. I only ask for shelter." Pleaded the rider. She watched as he grumbled and walked out of view. She waited for a while and then turned to go, the slump of exhaustion visible in her shoulders.  
"Oi!" Yelled the gate keeper, "I did na go through the trouble of gettin ye a room for ye to wander off again!"  
The rider turned back around and thanked the gate keeper before trotting through the opening gates, only to be met by a group of eight guards bearing crossbows pointed at her chest.  
"We are going to have to ask you to leave your weapons with old Grant here before we let you into our homes." Said the leader of the guards as he gestured towards the gate keeper.  
"Oi'll take good care of them." Assured Grant sincerely, "knowing that no man or woman should go unarmed round these dangerous parts." They all watched warily as the rider dismounted and proceeded to unbuckle the several knives and swords. From her back came a broad sword, two shorts words, two dagger and an elder bow and a quiver full of arrows. From her torso came four throwing knifes. From around her waist came a saber and a rapier, her boots held a hunting knife and a shiv. As she began to take off her boots the leader of the guard stepped forward, a look of shock on his face.  
"We do not mean to rob you of your clothing dear lady!" He said. She looked at him, and banged the heel of the boot on the ground. The guards all tensed as the spring loaded blade flicked out with a slight whisk. The guard commander stepped back and waved his men down as the riders boots joined the pile of weapons on the ground.  
"That's quite the 'rsenal ye got there lass." Exclaimed the Grant with a chuckle as he collected the pile from the ground.  
"Make sure you don't scratch them." Muttered the rider darkly as Grant walked back to the gatehouse and the guard commander gestured for the rider to follow him.  
"The Fastids have offered you the loft of your barn for the night, so that's where you'll be sleeping. You aren't leave there till I come and get you in the morning. If you do my men will shoot you on sight." Stated the guard commander as the approached a large wooden structure that looked more like a siege tower than a barn.  
"One more thing," said the commander, "I'm assuming you have a name?"  
"You can call me Astra." muttered the rider, hiding her face in the cloaks comforting shadows.  
"Fine. Nice to meet you, Astra. Mine names Drake." Said the commander before walking into the night.

It felt like no time at all and an eternity later that Astra woke to the roaring fire, smoke filling her lungs and hot air baking her throat. She jumped out of the loft and quickly took stock of her surroundings. The barn was on fire. That was the most obvious fact she noticed, second was that it was burning from the top down, the third she noticed when she reached the door. Someone had barred it from the outside.  
"Damn it!" She swore, banging her fist on the door. Looking around she noticed a window about half way up on the opposite side of the barn. She turned towards it and started running. She dodged around a falling beam and dashed towards the support beam next to the window. As she got near it she leapt, planting both feet on the beam and diving through the window. She flipped and landed heavily on her back, knocking the burning air out of her in a rush and then ducking the cool night air back into her body. As she staggered to her feet the barn let out a groan and the roof collapsed inwards.  
"Looksy here lads! A live one!" Cawed an oily voice from over her shoulder. As she turned she made out three men in bits and pieces of armour carrying rusty swords.  
"Hey there boys." smiled Astra unbuckling her leather jerkin. The men smiled and her hand moved like a snake, snapping forwards at one of the men whilst she ran towards another. The remaining two men looked at the one who had spoken and taking only an instant to see the small knife that he was clawing at that had lodged in his throat. The second man looked back at her just as she leapt onto his shoulders, using her weight to drag him down before finishing him with a hard jab to the jaw. The third man tried to rush her with his sword but she side stepped, twisting his wrist and snapping her other palm into his face. At the impact he let go of the sword and staggered back only to find the sword buried to the hilt in his stomach. As he fell over Astra looked up to see Drake watching her, a look of incredulity in his eyes.  
"Where did you learn to fight?" He asked disbelieve laced through his voice entwined with astonishment.  
"No where." Snapped Astra. " You didn't think to try and help?!"  
"It didn't look like you needed it." Said Drake defensibly.  
"Still." Huffed Astra shoving past him and trudging towards the gate. "So what happened?" She asked as he strode after her.  
"Bandits." Spat Drake, "They climbed the walls on the east side and slaughtered a good number of men and women before the alarm was raised."  
"Seems like you need better guards then." Said Astra. Drake glared at her.  
"Where are you going?!" He burst out as he stepped in front of her barring her way forward and grabbing her arm tightly.  
"To get my weapons!" Yelled Astra.  
"No," Said Drake "You aren't going anywhere near the gates. You could be working with them." He eyed he suspiciously.  
"If I was working with them, why did i just kill two of them and seriously injure another?" She asked coldly.  
"To gain my trust and betray me." Said Drake.  
"Oh for..." Stuttered Astra angrily before kneeing Drake in the groin and brushing past him as he bent over gasping. "I'm getting my weapons whether you like it or not!" Called Astra as she shoved the gate house door open. She emerged minutes later, buckling her sword belt on to find Drake gone. "Good riddance" she muttered stepping out of the gatehouse. Suddenly she felt a great weight land on top of her, crushing her to the ground as her arms were pulled behind her back.  
"Boo." Whispered Drake into her ear as he clamped the chains to her arms.  
"You... Bastard!" Grunted Astra as he pulled her to her feet.  
"Don't blame me, its just a precaution." He said calmly as he half dragged, half pulled her towards the town hall. As they stumbled into the hall the commoners rushed forwards, crowding around Drake, demanding to know what happened or where their loved one was or what was his plan. Drake just pushed on through the throng of people and onto the dais at the end of the hall, all the while keeping hold of the chain that bound Astra's hands.  
"Its okay everyone!" Drake cried, "The bandits have been driven off. I will admit they got the better of us in sneaking in. It was thought that they didn't have the equipment to climb the walls, but somehow they did. We lost some good men before and during the fighting and some of our homes were burnt down. But we will honour the dead and rebuild our homes."  
"But what about when the bandits come back?" Asked a voice in crowd.  
"Then we will be ready." Replied Drake turning to leave. At that moment he noticed that Astra had been slowly inching towards the rear door. "Stop her!" He cried to the two guards as she broke into a run, slipping past the two guards and through the door with ease. As she ran she glanced over her shoulder to see Drake pulling himself through the door way and after her. Putting on a burst of speed she streaked toward the wall, picking out hand and foot holds as she ran. She could hear Drakes heavy foot falls from behind her and as she dashed around a corner he caught hold of the edge of her cloak tearing it from her shoulders and causing her to fall on her back. Drake looked at the torn cloak in his hand and then at Astra's now revealed face and the pointed ears that emerged from beneath her straight auburn hair.  
"Your an elf!" He exclaimed with a mix of suspicion and terror, "You should have told us."  
"Then you would never have let me in. You humans all distrust us." Spat Astra as she climbed back onto her feet.  
"You lied to us." Muttered Drake who was beginning to pace back and forth whilst toying with the hilt of the long sword strapped to his waist. Quick as lightning he grabbed Astra by the collar and slammed her against the wall.  
"What else did you lie about?" He growled lifting her against the wall.  
"Nothing! I swear." She choked struggling against his iron grip.  
"Yeah, like I'm going to take an elf's word." He spat vehemently, "Astra probably isn't even your name, is it?" Drake's eyes were filled with hate and, to Astra's surprise, hurt. Astra squirmed in Drakes grip as the stars grew brighter, shining down their light on the town.  
Wait, thought Astra, terror and understanding dawning on her. Those aren't stars. She wrapped her legs about Drakes stomach and pushed the shield off his shoulder with her knee. Astra reached out and caught the shield before it fell and angled it upwards, covering Drake and herself. Drakes face turned to one of surprise as he felt her shift and use her weight to drag him down.  
"What are you..." Drake started before breaking off in a grunt as the first of the arrows hit the shield, hitting hard enough to drive him down onto Astra's body. When the last of the arrows had fallen he stood, yanking his shield from Astra's grasp.  
"Thank you." He blurted grudgingly.  
"I didn't lie to you." Astra eyed him warily.  
"I don't have time for this." Growled Drake. "We'll finish this later." He said stalking off towards the walls. After a moment Astra rose and walked after him. When he reached the walkway atop the walls she heard him curse.  
"What is it?" She asked when she reached him and seconds later she echoed his curse as he pointed towards the road.  
In the five hours since she had walked that same road it had become a crowded mass of steel, leather and flesh. Thousand and thousands of bandits seemed to have all converged on the road and were now charging towards the town.  
"Raise the alarm, alert the guard!" Cried Drake at the sentry guarding gatehouse door, "Run!" He screamed as the sentry moved towards the town hall. "What are you doing?" He snapped at Astra who was stringing a longbow from the pile of bows used to defend the wall.  
"You need every fighter you can get, and I'm easily worth ten of those boys you call guards and you know it." Astra raised strung bow and nocked an arrow into the string.  
"Fine. But this doesn't mean I trust you!" Sneered Drake turning away to give orders to the gathering guards. Astra huffed and released and drew another arrow from the barrel next to her, nocking and releasing it smoothly before watching it arc and slam into the man whom she'd marked as her hand dropped to the barrel and came back up with another arrow. She fell into the rhythm quickly, barely noticing the other archers joining her and adding their arrows to hers. For every step the bandit army approached a man dropped from Astra's deadly accuracy. As the broken frontline shattered against the wall, bearing siege ladders to reach the walkway Astra noticed a single figure at the back of the host. She rushed down to the courtyard where Drake was helping a group of guards hold the gates closed whilst two others dropped the bar lock the gates.  
"Drake!" She cried, "I spotted the leader at the back of the host."  
"And exactly how does that help us?!" Drake snarled.  
"Because idiot," sighed Astra "he's the only thing holding this army together, since its made of different bands with different agendas. If he goes, so does the army." Drake looked at her thoughtfully.  
"So if we sneak around behind the host and kill the leader the rest will break and run."  
"Exactly." Preened Astra.  
"Don't get too excited. We still need to sneak around the host." Warned Drake. "We'll take a small, skilled group and drop over the wall, move through the forest and attack the commander. Emma, Sentim and Narkis! You are coming with me and Astra. Norman you have command here, if the wall falls, retreat and fortify the town hall." Ordered Drake grabbing a bow and quiver before leading the group to the rear of the town and dropping off the top of the wall into the woods.


End file.
